Another article about facemasks

[mjhickm]

Just found this on Max preps.com site about the use of face mask, I am amazed at the attitude of the article. After 12u the boys get back up another 30 feet the girls don't. In my 7yrs of umpiring I have seen many girls get hit at different age levels wearing masks and get up keep playing. My DD is 13 and pitching and will be wearing a mask, I have too much invested in her mouth with braces and other dental work not to.


Protect Your Daughter By Playing Catch - MaxPreps

 

[GOINGDEEP]

I'll chime in.

In my opinion the facemask for infielders and pitchers should be for unique occasions due to injury and not an everyday piece of equipment for preventative measures. Your feet and your glove are all you need to stay safe playing the infield!

I can assure you "Erica" has never had a child or family member seriously hit in the face. That will change your WHOLE perspective on masks. Even I was ignorant "only" reading about injuries, I was the one who said "it won't ever happen to my kid". DD has caught or deflected 100's of shots right back at her on the mound. Once she took a line drive to the face, my opinion changed in a flash.

All the practice in the world does nothing for that one in a million screamer that NO ONE could react to.

"Are they afraid? Do they lack confidence in their ability to catch the ball or in their reaction time? Does this kid have the toughness to compete against the best in the country?

If this was a man I'd prove my point another way. Take him behind the woodshed and give him the option of wearing a mask or not, and then see how fast his reactions really are.

 

[sleepwalker]

Using the logic behind this article, I can protect my dd from auto accidents by teaching her the lost art of driving. If I were to teach my dd how to drive, I wouldn't have to buy her a car that has air bags. I wouldn't have to tell her to wear a seat belt. If I went one step further, I could get her the same driving instruction that law enforcement officers get and she would be able to drive while looking at a computer screen or using her cell phone. I base my last sentence on the author's logic that they must have excellent driver's training, because I have never seen a police officer get in a wreck.

Things that make you go Hmmmmm.

 

[CoachKevin]

Funny how you cannot add comments to this article. She views kids wearing masks as afraid.... and Georgetown is a powerhouse in the Softball arena....go figure

 

[David Carter]

I actually did comment, I am a fan of 3B and pitchers having masks but as I posted, it was interesting using the pitching machine at the ball field I had left my glove in the car and went to start loading balls into the machine and felt naked out there, I went to go get my glove then once I had it I did not even think again about getting hit, even when a couple line shots came my way I just caught them, granted it's not the same as pitching but it was just the way I felt at the time.

 

[Dabears17]

My daughter took a line-drive to the forehead in 8u with a low-compression ball in the middle of the season and wears a pitching mask now. My reflexes were off the last game of the season and I had a line drive glancing blow to shoulder, hard bouncer that hit inside my leg just above my knee, and a line drive I had to duck out of the way of and it did a glancing blow to my jaw.

Good news is my girls were hitting the ball hard up the middle! My wife didn't let me coach pitch the last inning and I'm semi-seriously considering getting a mask for myself.

My daughter made the summer 8u team and she doesn't turn 8 until August. She evaluated as one of the top 4 players in 8u, can play catch, and isn't afraid of the ball.

 

[CoachKevin]

I actually did comment, I am a fan of 3B and pitchers having masks but as I posted, it was interesting using the pitching machine at the ball field I had left my glove in the car and went to start loading balls into the machine and felt naked out there, I went to go get my glove then once I had it I did not even think again about getting hit, even when a couple line shots came my way I just caught them, granted it's not the same as pitching but it was just the way I felt at the time.

Interesting, it wouldn't let me comment at all.... DC what age group are you talking about? I can tell you at the 16A level I will NOT throw B/P without a screen that I can hide behind.

 

[obbay]

I posted as well. I did not see who authored the article until after I posted, but the message is still the same- ignorant.

 

[awinn]

A couple of years ago I made it mandatory for the pitchers/pitcher helper, in my town to wear a mask. After years of watching near misses, quick reflexes and one off the chin of a girl who was wearing a mask I decided it was to easy and cheap not to do it. I don't care what baseball does, I don't care what college recruiters think, they don't have to live with the consequences. I realize an actual ball to the face maybe rare, but it is such an easy and cheap preventative for a devastating injury. A vast majority of the girls will be done playing softball at high school, if not sooner, why risk such an injury.

The intersting thing, a year after I mandated it for my pitchers, masks have sprung up like wild flowers around our league on pitchers and infielders. And this year I saw a pitcher in our league take a batted ball to the head, without a mask, at 12u. Two things saved her, the ball was hit by the smallest girl on the team and it hit her in the forehead about an inch above her eye. Thankfully she was ok.

My other thought was...if she can't tell by watching a girl play if she is scared or not, regardless of whether or not she has a mask she should probably find a different line of work.

 

[JDBerry]

My daughter is currently 12. 1 year ago the high school coach informed her/us that he needed her to pitch during varsity games (our season is in the fall). She was, of course 11 at the time. But the school is so down on talent, he had to resort to 6th grader to be the starting pitcher

Playing 12u, we really never considered a mask. But it was a no brainer when she's pitching ~40mph against 17-18yo, some of who are playing college ball this year. She threw over 1500 pitches and had several balls that were close calls coming back. So, yes she was afraid and the mask gives her some security. Why shouldn't a girl fear getting smashed in the face?

Back playing 12u this spring and the daughter wears the mask in the infield whether rec or tournament ball. She's just become comfortable with it.